Protect Me From The Night
by Dee1431
Summary: Ryan has worked to protect the most powerful person in the country but when he starts to work as protection for a Hollywood actress, he realize's that it has a lot more in store for him than he could ever imagine. ThreeShot RM
1. Are You In Or Out?

**This is something new that I've been working on to get a little break from my other stories. There will only be 3 chapters for this mini story. The story is based off one of my favorite movies so I hope you enjoy! **

Never did he ever imagine that he'd be here.

Ryan Atwood stood in the foyer of the million dollar mansion, wondering what in earth he was doing here. The overpriced and extravagant living room made him feel slightly uncomfortable and out of place but he reminded himself that this is what he needed, he needed this job, he needed to stop doing nothing.

He had been doing nothing for a month now. He was a body guard, or as some people called a "personal protection specialist" and had been for as long as he could remember. With his 6'2 muscular build and strong features, he was perfect for the job and had been told that many times by his friends father, who himself was a bodyguard for the vice president at some point earlier in his life.

As soon as he finished going to college, he decided that maybe the military was the best choice for him, considering that his father had died in the Army when Ryan was only a young boy and he knew it was time to give the salute to his father he deserved for all that he did in his lifetime. Ryan let the ideas of becoming a bodyguard from his friend's father slip his mind, deciding that the Army was a better choice for him. Ryan joined the army and stayed for 4 years before returning back home. In that time, he learned all everything he could to becoming a better man and doing what he had to do but realized that the didn't seem himself in the Army for the rest of his life.

He returned home to Philadelphia to where his mother lived, only to learn that his mother was battling breast cancer and only had a few months to live. He stayed by his mother side for the remainder of his days, enlightening her about his days in the service and how it had been. She listened with joy and glee, happy to hear that her son had found the same magnificence in the service that her own husband found. She wouldn't lie; she had been very hesitant at first to letting her only child go off to the Army, the same service that she had lost the love of her life to over twenty two years ago.

But after she heard the passion in his voice as he spoke about the Army, she knew that she had made the best decision in supporting him to do so. Ryan and his mother, Sarah, spent every waking moment with each other, making sure that everything was taken care of and that everything would be okay when she left. And although it killed Ryan to think about, he knew he would have to say goodbye to his mother, the woman who had been his family for over twenty five years, he knew it was time to let go. It was time to let her go to his father in heaven.

Her funeral and wake were small, close friends and family in attendance as they buried her next to his father. Ryan sat at their grave for many hours, merely thinking about his life and all the time he missed with his mother while he was in the Army. He couldn't help to think that maybe if he had been home that she could have gotten better and that she'd still be with him but he knew that she was in a better place. As cliché as it was, Ryan knew that his mother wanted to be with her husband since the day he had been taken away, so he let them go. He let it go on a good note and revisited his memories of his mother with joy.

A few months later, after selling his parents house, he knew it was time for another career and remembered the wise words he'd heard when he was younger. It was the best time, he was in the best shape of his life and he knew that'd it be the best choice for him. He had no criminal acts and had just gotten out of the army; something he knew would help him in his goal. He called up his friend's father and got all the information about what he had to do and learned that with a new president being elected, some secret service men were retiring and new ones were being hired in about a month. Ryan decided at that moment, he would be in the secret service.

Ryan worked out every day for ridiculous amounts of hours, he took classes for martial arts and self defense, even escape driving, making sure that he had everything he needed. He went to Washington D.C. a month later with utmost confidence that he would get a job working for the secret service. Some could say he was a little biased about getting the job but he'd been told by his mother, many times, that he had the same willpower and drive as his father and that always seemed to make him push harder. So he did, and he got into the secret service.

Ryan worked hard every single day to become the best secret service agent he could and before long, he was one of the secret service agents to guard the president himself and not one to guard the area around the white house perimeter. He went wherever the president went, to all different countries, his vacation home of Camp David, anywhere the president went, and there was Ryan right next to him.

Although Ryan loved his job, he realized all the aspects of his life he was missing out on. When he thought about how long it'd been since he hung out with his friends or went out on a date with a girl, it seemed to only make him want to quit even more. He knew that'd there be time for that, but in between working with president, sleeping and eating, there didn't seem much time for anything else.

He worked for the secret service for eight long years, doing both terms of the presidency and finally deciding that he needed to pursue a less strenuous career. Ryan went back home, knowing that at age thirty three, he'd need to find someone he'd want to spend the rest of his life with soon. What he didn't realize was how many people would call him to work for them, movie stars, and musicians, anyone in need of a good bodyguard called him and he seemed to find none that met his needs. But on one special day, he got a call about a famous actress, in dire need of a bodyguard and was willing to pay anything for his services. Ryan didn't know why but he felt that maybe this was the call that he'd been waiting for.

He left for California a few days later and found where the movie star lived, not knowing who she was or what she looked like. Having the job he'd had didn't give him much time to hang out and read a tabloid or see a movie. He went into the house, seeing major things that needed to change to protect the movie star.

After being questioned at the gate from his car, he was told to get out to be searched for any weapons. After parking his car, he went to the front door, finding himself tugging at his polo shirt in the hot LA heat. Although it was hot in Philadelphia in the summer, California seemed to be much worse. The maid welcomed him into the home and she brought him into the foyer of the house. He stood up, looking around the foyer, wondering why his services were needed so badly.

He looked around at the beautiful paintings on the walls, seeing a certain style to the paintings. They were obviously all by the same artist but Ryan seemed to notice something specific about the paintings, he studied one of the pictures. It was of a woman in a floor length deep red dress dancing on a beach with a man in a black tuxedo and next to them were what looked like their maid and butler, holding umbrellas above them in the rain. He suddenly remembered this certain painting and felt it tug at his heart strings; his mother had owned the exact same painting. His father had bought it for her, knowing that she loved this artist's work but didn't have any of it. He remembered seeing the picture in their basement, his mother had taken it done because it was too hard to look at and for some reason, he knew why.

Ryan was interrupted when a handsome man came into the room where he stood, a friendly smile on his face. "Hey, you must be Mr. Atwood" the man asked with an outstretched hand, Ryan nodded his head; "nice to meet you" Ryan said and shook the man's hand. He was a shorter man, obviously older, maybe in his early forties. He had jet black hair and tan skin, but was thin and young looking for his age. "I'm her manager, my name is Owen…and I'm so glad that you could come out here to help us" he said.

"I'm glad to help" Ryan stated and turned when he heard someone coming from down the hallway. A man around his age came into the room obviously to caught up in his blackberry to see Ryan, "hey Owen, will she be here the 15th of next month because Kemmel's people are calling and asking if she'll come on the show" he said, oblivious to the other person in the room. He looked up from his blackberry and turned to Ryan in surprise, "hey…are you…?" he trailed off turning to Owen, "the bodyguard, and yes she's free" Owen finished for him and the man turned back to him with smile.

"Oh hey man, I'm Eric…her publicist" he said with a handshake that Ryan accepted with a smile. "Hey, I'm Ryan…nice to meet you" he said and Eric smiled, "you too." Eric was probably about an inch shorter than Owen, with a fair complexion and brown hair, the freckles on his face giving away his Irish roots. "Okay good…Kemmel has been trying to book her for months now" Eric said before putting something into the blackberry. He listened to Eric mumble incoherently under his breath about upcoming events and turned his head immediately when he heard a sweet voice break through the room.

"Owen, did my parents call at all today?" she asked, her voice laced with hope. Owen looked up slowly, "no I'm sorry kiddo…still no word from them" Owen said. Ryan stood, patiently waited for his employer to come through the door and Owen noticed. "Sweetie, come over here and meet the bodyguard" Owen said and the girl who walked through the doors was no girl. She was a beautiful young woman; in her mid twenties, she had long blonde hair and gorgeous honey colored skin. She was tall and thin, maybe four or five inches shorter than he was. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue and he felt all his power leave his body as he stared at the breathtaking girl in front of him, dressed in a simple blue sun dress and flip flops.

Marissa turned to him and smiled brightly, placing out a hand, "hi, I'm Marissa Cooper" she said with a dazzling smile that made Ryan swoon. Ryan shook her hand softly, "I'm Ryan Atwood…it's great to meet you" he said. "Same here" she replied and wrapped her arm around Owens shoulders. "This guy has not stopped raving about you for days, telling me how great of a body guard you are and how it's a miracle we were able to hire you" she said with a giggle and Ryan felt a half smile come onto his face.

Marissa watched him with interest, definitely thanking God for the luck she had for getting such a handsome body guard. He was taller than her, which in Hollywood, didn't happen much because she was so tall. He had short blonde hair, tan skin, and bright blue eyes, he had strong features but his eyes seemed to be soft and caring, something that she wanted to investigate. His muscular built was obvious in his white polo shirt and jeans and for some reason, she was liking the possibility of him working for her more and more by the second.

Ryan smiled modestly, "I'm not that great…" he said and Marissa laughed once again, something that made Ryan even more happy. "You were in the secret service…you guarded the president…what did you do before that?" she asked, clearly interested. Ryan stuffed his hands in his pockets, "I was in the army for four years right after I graduated from college" Ryan answered and Owen turned to Marissa with a smile and she seemed to be more and more excited by his answer.

"My dad was in the army…a long time ago" Marissa said with smile and Ryan nodded. Marissa turned to Owen, "anything else?" she said and Owen shook his head, he pulled the check out of his pocket and handed it to Ryan, who almost fell over for the amount in the check. "So Mr. Atwood, are you in or out?" Owen asked and Ryan turned to look at Marissa, smiling softly at her, and said, "I'm in."


	2. Rejection Or Protection?

Okay, here's part two of the story, there's only one more after this. I'm writing up part 3 right now so hopefully I can have it up by tommorow. Enjoy and review! )

From that day, Ryan spent just about every waking moment with Marissa, guarding her wherever she went, except for private locations such as the bathroom. Ryan and she seemed to get along quite well, they even flirted a lot with each other, unfortunately, they did butt head's on some things, such as parties, which Marissa was in the mood to go to tonight.

"I just don't understand why you think it's a bad idea" Marissa said, crossing her arms over her chest, clearly annoyed. Ryan sighed once again and pulled off his sunglasses and put them in his pocket, something that always seemed to make her melt, his eyes always brought the mushy and sentimental side of her out. "It's not safe Marissa…they don't check the people who go into those clubs, someone could hurt you and it's my job to make sure it doesn't happen" Ryan stated, his annoyed eyes meeting her in their heated dispute. "Well then do your job and protect me while we're in the club" Marissa said strongly and left his bedroom. Ryan sighed, feeling irritation fill him.

He had been living in the house for about a month now and nothing had gone wrong since he got there. Ryan made sure that the house had all the necessary precautions to make sure she was safe, such as a new ten foot wall being built around the property that was only able to be entered through the security covered gate, which you could only get in if you were on the schedule. Ryan moved into the guest room right next to hers, having them put in a door that went directly into her bedroom for safety….something that didn't make her too happy, as they put it in, she muttered something while standing next to him, making him chuckle. "Well there goes my sex life" she said and left the room, leaving Ryan smiling and laughing.

The only problem was Ryan still had no clue why he was here. Why was it so urgent that he come out here and why were they paying him a ridiculous amount of money to stay? He'd ask her manager and he'd shrugged it off, saying that he'd tell him another time when she wasn't around.

That night, Ryan and Marissa were welcomed into the club, Ryan felt completely out of place as she sat and talked to her friends. He stood with his hand over his P226 ST stainless steel semi-automatic pistol, making sure he was ready for anyone or anything. Ryan watched as a young man made his way to Marissa and her friends and asked Marissa if she wanted to dance, jerking Ryan into action, catching Marissa's attention as he walked over to her. Marissa went over to Ryan, "just one dance…we'll dance right in front of you so you can see me…please Ryan" she said and he felt helpless to say no to her. He nodded his head and she smiled, "thank you" she said softly and made her way to the young man who'd asked her to dance.

They did dance in front of him, and he realized as they danced, that he didn't like it one bit. He didn't know what was wrong with him, maybe it was concern, or maybe it was jealousy. But he watched as the guy held Marissa closer to him and wrapped her arms fully around her waist. He turned away, not wanting to look at them anymore, finding that it was making him sick to watch. But when he turned back, she wasn't there anymore. Ryan quickly went through the crowd, searching for her, yelling her name. "Marissa!" he yelled, but it was useless over the loud crowd and music.

The man pulled her through the crowd to the other side, kissing her agressively on the lips. Marissa pulled with a laugh, tasting the alcohol from his tongue. "Hey, hey, hey.. slow down" Marissa said as he continued to pull her towards the exit. "Where are we going?" she asked, confused as to where he was taking here. "Back to my place, come on baby" he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her through the exit, much to her dismay. "Stop it, I don't want to go home with you…" she said loudly through the rainy night, trying to hold back the tears that had met her eys and trying to escape his grasp. "Yes you do…don't lie to yourself" he said and kissed her roughly once again, Marissa pushed him back strongly, feeling tears come day her face. "Don't touch me!" she yelled once again and felt her hand cover her mouth when a fist came flying through the air, across his jaw and knocked him over completely.

"Ryan" she said, covering her mouth in shock. Ryan turned to her, concern etched across his face and looked down at the ground, his black outfit covered in rain. Marissa ran into his arms, "thank you" she said softly as tears continued to come down her cheeks. Ryan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his body protectively, "are you okay?" he asked and she nodded against his chest. Ryan picked her up in his arms and brought her to their limo waiting at the front entrance. He brought her into the car and held her in his lap, whispering sweet nothings to her, as the car started and they were brought back to her home.

Ryan carried her back into house and up to her bedroom, placing her soaked body gently on the bed. He took a seat next to her on the bed and watched as she wiped the tears from her cheeks and sniffled. She met his eyes, "I wish I could be normal…I'd give anything to go back to the way things were before I was famous" she said and looked down at the bed. Ryan nodded his head, "I know…I know its hard" he said. Marissa brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, "my mom was famous…she was in a lot of movies and she assumed that I would want to do the same thing…but I didn't. I wanted to be a doctor" she said.

Ryan continued to watch her, mesmerized by this beautiful and yet broken girl in front of him. "And you know what…my parents don't even talk to me…they didn't even call me on my birthday" she said and Ryan leaned in to wipe the tears off her cheek, catching her attention and causing her to turn towards him. "When was your birthday?" he asked softly, Marissa grabbed a tissue and wiped her nose. "The day before I met you" she answered and Ryan finally realized why she was asking if her parents had called, she was hoping that by the day after they would have remembered.

Ryan leaned in close to kiss her forehead, "happy belated birthday" he said with a smile and started to get up from the bed, but she pulled him back down to her and kissed him softly on the lips. Ryan felt her lips on his and finally felt that he belonged somewhere in her life, that he wasn't just her bodyguard. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. But wait…Ryan though, I am her bodyguard…and I'm not supposed to do this, he thought and as she about to deepen the kiss, he pulled back.

"I'm sorry…I'm not supposed to do this…" he trailed off and Marissa looked down at the bed, feeling completely stupid for what she had just done. "I'm sorry" he weakly stated and Marissa moved away from him, "just get out of my room…" she said, trying to not cry. Ryan tried to pull her into his arms but she shrugged him off her. "Please Marissa…" he started and she immediately got off the bed, opening the door that led directly to his bedroom and she stood next to it. "Leave….now" she said and waited for him to retreat back to his bedroom, which he did. Marissa closed the door loudly and retreated back to her bed, letting the tears cloud her vision as she cried herself to sleep.

Ryan didn't sleep much that night, he listened as she cried herself to sleep, feeling his heart ache as she continued to cry. Early the next morning, he got out of bed and checked her bedroom to see her sleeping peacefully and decided he'd go make her some coffee because she'd probably be awake soon. He went into the kitchen to see Owen reading the paper, "morning" Ryan said and Owen looked up from the paper. "Morning" Owen said with a smile. Ryan started to make the coffee and suddenly turned to Owen, "why am I here?" he asked. Owen looked up from his newspaper, sighing loudly as he rubbed his eyes. "You want the truth?" Owen asked Ryan and Ryan nodded.

"As her manager, I've made sure that she has no movie's in the next few months because…because Marissa has been getting death threats…bad ones…for a few months now. She'd never gotten one before this guy sent her one, and they're all from the same person…and she's gotten four so far" Owen said quietly. Ryan sat down across from Owen, "what have they said?" Ryan asked. Owen took a sip of his orange juice before answering, "three of them all said the same thing…things like: "I want to see your blood run… I see you every day, I can't wait to see you alone so I can feel your blood turn cold…that day is coming soon" Owen finished quietly.

Ryan knew he shouldn't be afraid but at that moment, nothing seemed worse than losing Marissa. "When has she recieved them?" Ryan asked. Owen ran a hand through his hair, "she received three in the month before you came…that's why we called you" he said. "And the fourth?" Ryan asked seriously, Owen pulled a letter out of his pocket. "This morning…it was at the gate, but the guards say that they didn't seem anyone drop it off" he said and Ryan grabbed the letter out of his hands, opening it quickly. Ryan read the words, seeing the first few lines were exactly what Owen had just said but the last two lines were different and he felt his heart beat rapidly as he read the last two lines:

"_I watched you last night as you danced with disgusting man…I watched as your bodyguard comforted you outside in the rain. And I know that you think he'll always be able to protect you…but you're wrong…very very wrong."_

Ryan handed the letter over to Owen and Owen grabbed it and read it, the fear overtaking him also. "Does she know?" Ryan asked and Owen looked down at the table, Ryan slammed his hand on the table, "I said, does she know?" Ryan said loudly and Owen shook his head. "No…I didn't tell her" he said and as Ryan went to continue the conversation, Marissa stepped into the kitchen, abruptly stopping their discussion.

"Morning Owen" she said nicely and went over to the coffee machine to pour herself a cup. Owen looked at Ryan confused and Ryan shook his head, telling him to not even ask, "morning kiddo" Owen said and took another sip of his orange juice, "how was the club last night?" he asked Marissa as she took out a box of cereal and bowl. "Oh it was good…just after the club, coming home…that part really sucked" she said as she looked at Ryan and Ryan turned to look at her. Marissa opened the fridge and took out the milk and poured some in her cereal and Ryan turned in his chair to grab a spoon from the draw for her, handing it out to her as she started to walk by them. Marissa ignored his hand and grabbed her own spoon, leaving the room in a hurry.

Owen turned to him and Ryan angrily turned back to him, "I want you to tell her…and I mean soon, before she goes on Jimmy Kemmel next Thursday" Ryan said, giving Owen a week and a half to tell her and stood up from the table with his coffee, walking into the living room where she sat. He sat down next to her and she stood up angrily, turning off the tv and went upstairs to her bedroom, and Ryan knew it would be a very rough week working for Marissa Cooper.

The rest of week passed and Ryan didn't realize how hard it was to not talk to Marissa, he was so used to being able to talk to her because whenever she'd go anywhere, he'd be right next to her. But now, he'd follow behind her, because she didn't want to talk to him anyways, but Saturday was a different story. Considering that the night before, Owen had told Marissa about the letters, deeply scaring her and making her see why Ryan had been as protective as he was being. Ryan sat in his room, watching tv when Marissa stepped into the room, standing awkwardly at the doorway and Ryan sat up curiously, muting the tv as he did so. "What's up?" he asked as he got off the bed and made his way over to her. "Well…I was wondering, I havent had a date in months now…and if I can't go on a date with a random guy anyways because of the letters…and because if we wanted to go back to his place…you'd have to come with me" Marissa said with a smile.

"And it's the same if we came back here, you'd have to come with us" she said and tucked a strand of hair behind her hair. "So I was wondering, if you'd take me out onto a date…tonight" she said with a shy smile, almost making him melt. "I don't know Marissa, it doesn't sound like a good idea…" he trailed off and Marissa grabbed his hand.

"It doesn't have to mean anything, I just really want to get out of the house…" Marissa said with pleading eyes, "please" she added and Ryan sighed loudly. He looked down at her hand that was holding onto his and he smiled softly, "okay" he said and she smiled brightly. "Thank you…you can come get me at eight" she said and left the room, leaving a smile on Ryan's face.

Ryan dressed himself in black slacks and a grey button down dress shirt that night. He looked at himself in the mirror, checking his hair and making sure he looked presentable. He stepped out of the room and went down the stairs into the kitchen, looking at the clock and seeing that it was five of eight. He went to the foyer of the house, "ahem" someone coughed from the top of the stairs and he looked up to see Marissa at the top of the stairs, dressed in a cocktail mini dress that made her legs look beautifully long. She wore a cream colored cock tail dress with black pumps, with a scoop neck, three button detail and empire waist. With her natural tanned skin, she looked gorgeous.

She came down the steps toward him and stopped in front of him, "you look amazing" he said with a smile and she ran a hand through her long curly tresses. Ryan extended his hand to her, "you ready?" he asked and she accepted his hand with a nod and they left the house together.

They arrived at the very seccluded restaurant in Beverly Hills where they were seated immediately at an amazing table right next to the beautiful fountain. Ryan and Marissa talked, ate, flirted, enjoyed their time together, finding themselves head over heels for each other. Ryan leaned over and grabbed her hand in his as he saw people start dancing on the dance floor, he stood up and motioned his head towards the dance floor, she smiled and stood up. They came to the dance floor as a slow song started and Ryan pulled her in close to him, holding her hand over his heart and wrapping his other arm around her waist.

He didn't know long it took but the next thing he knew, they were in her bedroom, pulling each others clothes off desperately. Ryan pushed her against the back of the door and kissed her passionately as she unzipped his pants and let them drop to the floor near his bare feet. Marissa unzipped her dress, allowing Ryan to pull it off of her and through it to the floor. Marissa moaned softly as he kissed down her neck to her breasts, leaving her aroused and wanting more. Marissa pushed him back onto the bed, unclipping her bra and throwing it to the ground, leaving her in her lace thong.

Marissa joined him on the bed, straddling his waist and leaning down to kiss him aggresively. Ryan ran his hands up her silky smooth legs to the straps of her thong and pulled it down her legs to the floor. Ryan flipped them over so he was on top, groaning when he felt her nails scrape his muscular back. Marissa played with the elastic of his boxers and slowly brought them down his legs. Marissa heard herself moan as she felt Ryan's fingers softly stroking her core. Marissa turned them over and sat up, she bent close to his face, "make love to me Ryan" she whispered as their lips touched. Ryan flipped them back over, granting her wish.

After they made love, twice, Marissa laid her head down on his chest as he ran his fingers up and down her back, kissing the top of her head occasionally. Marissa ran her fingers up and down his chiseled arm, feeling all the protection she needed. "I feel so safe with you…like nothing could ever hurt me" she said softly as she turned her head to look up at him and he smiled, "good" he stated and leaned in to kiss her softly.

The next morning, Ryan woke up with a jolt, surprised to feel a sleeping body on his chest. He looked down at Marissa and remembered everything that had happened the night before, their fantastic date, them dancing, them making love twice, and then falling asleep together. But as he stared down at her beautiful face, her caring and generous face, he felt all the pain of what might happen if they did stay involved. Ryan slowly took her off his chest and got out of the bed, grabbed his clothes and got redressed, but as he pulled his shirt back on, he felt warm fingers stroke his back.

He turned to face her, seeing her tired and smiling face, "hey" she said softly and sat up, the sheet covering her naked body. "Hey" he answered and stood up, she grabbed his hand, "where are you going?" she asked as she pulled him into the bed next to her. Ryan pulled his hand out of her grasp and she turned away from him, the hurt apparent on her face. "So what? Last night meant nothing to you" she said as she started to get out of the bed. He pulled her back towards him angrily, "you know that isnt true" he stated and she shrugged, "do I know that?" she said softly. Ryan grabbed her hands in his, "you have to understand Marissa…you're my employer" he started and she cut him off, "employer? That's all I am to you?" she asked, the anger coming back rather quickly as she wripped her hands from his and stood up from the bed.

"Marissa" he said sternly and she stopped and turned to him. Ryan stood up and walked towards her, lifting her chin up so his eyes could meet hers, and as his eyes saw the tears coming down her cheeks, all he felt was guilt. "My job is to protect you Marissa and I can't let my feelings for you get in the way of that" he said and she looked away from him. "So you just want to pretend that it never happened?" she asked as she held back a sob. "I don't know…but what I do know is that something were to happen to you because of me and my feelings, then I'd never be able to forgive myself. I can't lose you…so I need to protect you and that's all I can give right now" he said truthfully and she nodded before grabbing some clothes and leaving the room.

The next day, Marissa stood in the kitchen, eating some cereal when she heard a knock on the front door. She went to the door and opened it to reveal one of her security guards, holding her mail, she greatly accepted the mail and made her way back into the kitchen, looking through the mail when she saw an intruiging letter with no mailback address. Marissa opened the letter and felt her heart collapse as she read the words:

_"I want to see your blood run… I see you every day, I can't wait to see you alone so I can feel your blood turn cold…that day will be very soon…I know what you did with him…I watched as he danced close with you the other night…and I know that you think he'll be able to protect you, but you're wrong…you're very very wrong my sweet Marissa."_

"RYAN!" she screamed and felt hot tears come to her eyes as she sank to the kitchen floor, "RYAN!" she screamed again as she heard him run into the kitchen and sink down to her, grabbing her and pulling her close to him. "There's another letter" she said through tears as she picked it up and put it in his lap, he grabbed it and read it carefully, scaring him again, more deeply this time. Ryan pulled her close to him, "I won't let him hurt you…I promise…I promise" he continued to say over and over again as she continued to sob on the kitchen floor.


	3. The Protection Of A Lifetime

Okay, here's very last chapter of this mini story. I hope you've enjoyed reading it and leave some reviews for me ) -Dee

Marissa stayed shaken up for the duration of the weekend and even into the next week. Thursday rolled around and she knew it was time to let it go, whatever would happen, she had to stop letting it control her. That night as she got ready to go to the set of Jimmy Kemmel, she heard a knock on the door and looked up to see Ryan step into the room. "Hey" he said with a smile and she weakly smiled back as she brought her hair up into a messy bun, knowing that they would be doing her hair and makeup on the set anyways. "Are you ready?" he asked and she turned to face him, he smiled and extended his hand, "remember what I told you, if you feel like something is wrong, just leave the set and come to me…okay?" he said and she grabbed his hand and stood up. "Okay" she said quietly as she smoothed out the red backless dress she had on.

Marissa moved towards the door when she turned back to Ryan, stopping him from moving and looked towards the ground. "Listen…if something happens tonight or any night from now on" she started and Ryan cut her off, "nothing is gonna happen Marissa" he said strongly and she placed her finger on his lips. "Just listen…if anything happens, I just want you to know…that I'm so glad I got to meet you and I'm sorry that things couldn't have worked out between us" she said as tears came to her eyes. She smiled sadly and grabbed his hands in hers, "I want you to know that if anything happens… I do love you" she said as a tear came down her cheek. "I may sound stupid but I just want you to know that" she said as she held back her sobs and left the room quickly.

Ryan and Marissa walked onto the set together, along with Owen and Eric. They brought them all to where she was getting her hair and makeup done. Marissa sat in chair in front of the vanity, smiling as she felt Ryan's fan on her shoulder, she looked up at him from the mirror and smiled at him.

After they finished her makeup and hair, she was brought to a part of the set so she could easily go to the stage when she was introduced. Ryan stood next to her, observing the crowd from where he stood, making sure everything seemed okay. He looked at all the faces, the women's faces, and especially the men's faces. He watched them all and turned when he saw Marissa come closer to him, "I'm afraid" she said, having a feeling that tonight would be the night. "I'm right here" he said, gesturing to himself and she nodded, bringing a fake smile to her face as she heard herself being announced. She let go of Ryans hand as she went onto the stage and shook Kemmel's hand and taking a seat next to him.

Ryan continued to watch the stage, seeing all the smiling faces as they watched Marissa Cooper. Until he came across one, one face that wasn't smiling…he was glaring at Marissa, somewhat crazily and Ryan watched him as he felt around in his pocket for something. He had cold gray eyes and short black hair, he was an average sized man, but the look on his face tortured Ryan, making him think of all the cruel violations he could make on Marissa. He turned to look at Marissa who was chatting with Kemmel, the nervousness laced in her voice. He turned back to the man who was still holding something in his hand but he wasn't looking at Marissa, he had turned to face him, staring at him and he smiled sickly as he lifted up his gun and aimed it at Marissa.

Ryan didn't know how fast but it was probably the fastest he had ever run in his entire life, but when he heard that gun go off, he knew that it was over, for him or Marissa, it was over. As he hit the stage, the whole crowd went crazy, screaming and running after hearing the gun shot. Ryan didn't know what happened, all he knew is that he was hurting all over from falling onto the hard stage and that he was covered in warm liquid, but what he didn't know was who it belonged to, but that was all he knew before all he could see was black.

The next morning, Marissa laid in the bed, running her hands over the sling. She watched as he slept, he was obviously still worried about her, even though there wasn't much to be worried about. She smiled as his eyes fluttered open and he saw her, a smile adorning his handsome face. "Hi" he said softly through lazy eyes, Marissa smiled back as tears came down from her eyes, landing on the sling that covered his arm. "Hey…you're awake" she said as she wiped her cheeks, Ryan grabbed her hand in his, running his thumb back and forth. "What happened?" he asked.

Marissa sighed, "he was there last night…at the show and he tried to shoot me but you ran out in front of me and you got shot" she said through tears. "You dislocated your shoulder because of the way you landed when you fell and you broke a few rids because of where the bullet punctured but other than that, it was stuff that surgery last night cured" she said with a small smile. Ryan smiled and grimaced as he tried to move, feeling pain shoot throughout his body. "Let me get the nurse…they said to call when you were awake so they could give you more morphine" she said and stood up to go to the Nurses station.

Soon enough, he had all the morphine he'd need to keep him content. "So what happened to him?" Ryan asked curiously. Marissa sat up, "they arrested him there and they found all copies of the letters in his house…along with a wall of pictures of me…and they told me his name, Jonathan Lasker, and I realized that he went to high school with me…and he was always asking me out on dates but I always declined" Marissa said as she looked down at the bed, "so when I became famous, it was easy for him to track me down….i guess he's been in and out of mental hospitals for awhile so his actions weren't backed up by stability." It still freaked her out that someone hated her that much just because she didn't go out on a date with him. Ryan grabbed her hand once again, "I'm glad you're okay" he said softly and she leaned forward and lightly kissed his lips. "Not as glad as I am that you're okay" she said and leaned her forward down onto his.

Later that day, as Ryan ate, Marissa sat in the chair, staring out into space, obviously deep in thought. Ryan looked up at her, noticing how long it'd been since she spoke. He watched as she continued to stare out the window, staring at the sunset. "What's wrong?" he asked and she broke from her thoughts, smiling reassuringly, "nothing" she said with a small smile and he took a sip of his drink. "I know when somethings on your mind, what is it?" he asked with a smile and she stood up.

She made her way to his bed and sat down far away from his body so she wouldn't hurt him, "Ryan…I'm leaving…I'm moving to England" she stated quietly and he watched as she looked down at the ground. "Why?" he asked and she sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "My parents asked if I wanted to live there…after what happened, they think it'd be better to live near them…" she said quietly and he nodded, understanding where that left them. But when she said the next few words, it spent him into a tail spin where he understood nothing, "But I want you to come with me" she said quietly as she looked up into his eyes.

A few months later, Marissa looked around at the city of London from where she sat on the bench. Right in front of her was Big Ben and in the early night, it shined beautifully. She sighed as she brought her hands to rest in her lap, hoping to warm them up in the November weather. She had been living in London for over a month now, waiting for her next movie to begin, which was being filmed in Ireland, coincidentally, so she wouldn't need to do much traveling.

She always wondered how he was at his job or if he liked it. She always wondered if maybe he regretted his choice and had picked the other but she'd never know. She wondered if it was a mistake coming out here or if it was for the best, she didn't know much, she realized.

She smiled when she felt two hands cover her eyes, "guess who?" he asked. Marissa giggled, "is it my other boyfriend? The man I secretly see on the side?" she said and laughed when she heard him sigh mockily. "No…I'm afraid you'll have to do with me" Ryan said as he sat down next to her and kissed her lips softly. "Hey" she said and grabbed his hand in hers, "how was work?" she asked and he shrugged. "Okay, protecting the castle isn't so bad…I just hate these hours" he said and she agreed. He had to work ridiculously early but he got out around four, but even so, he was always very tired.

Marissa stood up and extended her hand to him, "ready to go?" she asked and he grabbed her hand and stood up from the bench. "Of course" he said before softly kissing her once again, "let's go home" he said as they started their journey back to their pent house. Ryan wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close to him, guarding her, keeping her safe and most importantly, protecting her from the night…

_The End_

And maybe I am just a hopeless optimistic or too much of a dreamer but a little optism and dreaming never hurt anyone ;-)


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